Paynes Gray Watercolor

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Do you like to use Payne's Gray?

[@SpotterSky]

Yes, when I make watercolor I use it to make heavy clouds, in waves in the sea and not least in the shadows of plants. I use this amazing color but sparingly as it is incredibly powerful and easily becomes dominant :)

[@stormy439]

I do, but I am learning so flexible!

[@1msfit]

Yes, although being a beginner, I haven’t done much. However, I saw a video by an artist, whose name I cannot recall, who suggested making a chart of mixes of a blue with red in it, a blue that leaned toward green, and Paynes Gray. Each of those 3 were mixed on the chart with steadily increased amounts of 7 other colors. I was astounded by the variety of colors obtained with the Paynes Gray. It convinced me of the versatility possible with Paynes Gray. As I become more skilled, I intend to use it quite a bit in mixes. Thank you for reinforcing this lesson-and for teaching me even more!

[@tmsouth1]

I love it. Very helpful in mixing many colors especially peryeline green.

[@Art-What..]

Hi..i think the best thing about this video is when you said (no color is a bad color) that said in my opinion is smart 🤔

[@cilene2805]

I am a beginner and it was so good to know how to use Paynes gray and mix with other colours. Thank you. Michele.

[@floradiamonds]

At last! An explanation of Payne's Grey that I can follow. I'm having a lovely time, sitting here, a little bowl of nuts to hand, going through your videos. Much appreciated, and many thanks.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Brilliant. Snacks are very helpful with learning to paint I am sure 😁 Glad the videos are useful to you!

[@kimberlycorliss9616]

I like the WN Payne's Gray. That said, they all have their own beauty. The SAA is very pretty on it's own and an interesting color (I might need it!). Thank you for the mixing demo. Your explanations about your choices for mixing and their uses are very helpful. Edit for spelling😊

[@SharonFoster852]

I had taken Payne's Grey out of my palette in an effort to pare down, but this video quickly convinced me to put in back in. Thank you!

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

I take the approach of own a lot of colours but use a limited few in each painting.

[@melissamortimer4457]

I use Payne's Gray quite a lot. The Schminke one goes into blue more than the ones you swatched, possibly like W&N.

[@smz5302]

I love soft muted greens. The mix I find myself using again and again is Winsor & Newton Paynes Gray + Cadmium Yellow. What a gorgeous green. You are a master of color. Michele!

[@gorway7]

I am a fan of the WN Paynes grey. It is astonishingly blue compared to many others thats true, but it is very clean without any noticeable black precipitating out. For a true grey, I prefer Neutral tint but this can be achieved by adding a touch of alizarin to the WN Paynes grey. I have some Jackson's brand which can be good for very stormy skies, but it has a lot of carbon black which is very noticeable in any attempted mixes. My main use for the WN Paynes grey was to drop into green foliage for the darker shadow areas. It works as well as Perylene green for this purpose, it also works perfectly for a cooler sky blue in winter scenes.

[@chrissyharding9587]

Wonderful info thank you Michelle. I especially love the greens.

[@marylabrec2728]

Thanks for this. As a beginner there's nothing worse than always being told what not to do. This was nice and positive 😊

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@JaneandEmma]

This was a very informative and educational demonstration. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

So glad Marcey!

[@lovdolls]

Thank you for this. I had no idea as I'm so very new to this. I only heard of Payne's Gray this month when I got started with a cheap set of watercolors. Watching various tutorials it seems to be a popular background color. But your mixing of colors really enlightened me. I am waiting on new set to arrive with real colors with actual names haha. Crayola set at present. Your videos are lovely.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Thank you 😊

[@diannaa5631]

More often than I used to ,but after watching this I'll be using it even more.thank you.awesome tools

[@otterwench]

I love your color mixing videos, I always learn so much.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

I'm so glad!

[@wendyizod923]

Wonderful mixing understandable for new painters. I’m learning so much watching your video’s many thanks.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

My pleasure 😊

[@galemckiddy5120]

Your videos are so helpful and well done. Thanks so much from St. Louis, USA❤

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Thank you so much!

[@yomamma7982]

Love all the colors you mixed, am totally a newbie! I have to try these along with you. Thank you 🙏

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Have fun!

[@TheNeedleneuk]

I love color theory. I had a great art teacher in grammar school & at that time oils was my favorite medium. Then life got in the way. I’m now retired & beginning to enjoy the world of watercolor. Thank you for all your helpful tips.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Life always gets in the way :-) Thanks so much for watching Mary!

[@analauer6232]

Wonderful! Congratulations!

[@poke_n_around]

I love Paynes grey 😊

[@kristyhaysart]

Payne's Grey is one of my favourites!

[@stormy439]

You explain things so well!

[@Liz.Elizabeth-ann-designs]

I have loved Payne's Gray since I first tried it. I have both Paynes Gray and Payne's Blue Gray from Daniel Smith. I also have it in an inexpensive pan set I purchased on Amazon. I use it a lot.

[@reneerose9730]

I love using paynes grey as well as neutral gray exactly the ways you do here. They create amazing neutralized yet much more lively colours. Easy to warm up or cool down and coordinate with the colours on your piece

[@robertweinblatt2018]

One of my favorite colors, even with all its variations🥰

[@bethannweigand8061]

Thank you for this video. You answers many of my questions.

[@Toliverio1989]

paynes gray is my absolute favorite

[@sagepreaumx9903]

Actually my only watercolor class the instructor wanted up to purchase payen's grey. I see it being used everywhere. I do love how it mixes to make lovely naturals.

[@suzum.9713]

Loved this. Thankyou.

[@OneTrueWord1988]

This is so helpful Michele! I really love the soft, muted purples, and would never have thought of using Payne's Grey to mix them. Thanks so much! 💕 Donna

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Glad it was helpful Donna!

[@christinewilde110]

What beautiful colours. Thankyou. I am going to experiment tomorrow

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Wonderful!

[@dmfitzpatrick7694]

I am so excited to see the mixes from Payne’s grey.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Excellent ☺️ it's a great colour and so versatile!

[@alang253]

I admit I bought Payne's gray as a convenience shadow color which seems to have mixed results. Clouds was another main usage; thankfully watched this and got many more ideas on how to use it

[@chiangsim]

Great tutorial !

[@delphinewood7519]

Loved this. Thanks!🙏🌵

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@colleensmith2038]

Thank you Michelle. I've just added Paynes Gray to my palette. Excited for the options ahead of me! I am a newbie and am so pleased I found your channel.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Thanks Colleen!

[@tbm7187]

Another fabulous color tutorial. Thanks Michele!

[@annhinson5670]

I'm so glad you talked about Paynes gray. The one I have has a slight blue tint. It's a very pretty color. I have used it for shade in some of my paintings. I thank you for showing how to get some very pretty colors by mixing paynes gray.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

No problem!

[@SuperAlizarin]

Now I know more about Payne's grey. Very informative video.Thank you. Greetings from Morocco.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Thanks for watching and hello back from England :-)

[@deannam7551]

I'm new to watercolors and your color mixing videos are incredibly helpful!!

[@parsleybrain]

I love your colour mixing videos, Michele. Paynes grey is one of my faves. With your mixes I loved the stormy purple and the silver green best.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Thank you so much!

[@nercanb]

Very helpful information. I like how you presented this!

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Thanks Nancy 🙂 I have more colours mixing videos coming soon!

[@artwithalexander5359]

i can't even imagine not using payne's gray. it and indigo is my go to for so many other colors i use, like dark dusky purple and moody blues to name a couple.

[@urbanbeachbum2148]

So helpful!

[@karritz1542]

Interesting video. I was once told not to use yellow. I had done a painting that was predominantly yellow. I was told that it had worked in this instance but yellow is hard to handle so I should not attempt it again.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Interesting! Yellow is a primary so can't be completely ignored. I love yellow too!

[@katehobbs2008]

Thank you Michelle. Side issue, your skin is absolutely amazing. (Speaking as older woman having spent life in the tropics, on horses and boats.)

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Oh thank you! Actually I have a lot of acne scarring because I have always had oily skin. But then it ages better, factor 50 and hats is my recommendation :-) I did some beauty therapy training years ago and they told us remember the three 'S' that damage your skin... Sunlight, Smoking, Sugar (I eat too much sugar!) x

[@alang253]

@@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber ha I suffered from acne when I was younger and into adulthood. good to see that the extra oil is a benefit later in life and explains why I still look pretty young!

[@lynnswango8768]

Enjoyed watching how you mixed the paynes grey with various colors and I actually started a small book with all the color mixes so I have a reference for my paintings.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Great idea!

[@ritaobrien9093]

Thanks for this informative demonstration.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

You are welcome!

[@angrytreespainting]

This is so cool! I subbed!

[@jackiegagne2625]

Thank you for the color mixing videos - very helpful. Have you ever tested Meeden paints? What do you think of them?

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

I've heard of them but haven't used them myself, sorry :-)

[@megandd1797]

Cloud shutters? huh? I'm in the USA so maybe I misheard - but I am curious what you meant. (Editing my comment) I apologize. I listened to the following segment and realized you were saying shadows. Thought you might get a laugh if you read it the first way that I heard it though. As a beginner I have beginner paints and no Paynes Gray, just Lamp black. However, I loved the blue-black that you mixed!

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

That's funny!

[@TaraSueSalusso]

Hey Michelle. I’ve been watching your videos religiously for a few months now. I love them and your teaching style. In this video when you re-capped, I was a bit frustrated because when you got to the lower examples you didn’t talk about which of the Paynes gray you had mixed with the colors. I know you had switched between the talons and the other one. Putting that aside, would you recommend getting both of them? I am feeling tempted to do so but also feeling worried about remembering which is best for what when mixing with other colors. The Paynes gray I have right now is terrible. It is a very gray color and never gets dark enough to represent black. It also has a very odd texture that leaves little lumps on the paper. I am in the market to buy a new Paynes gray soon. I guess I’ll just buy the two of these and play with them to see what I get or watch the video again. 😁👍

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Sorry Tara, this is such an old video. My favourites are Talens Rembrandt or Daniel Smith, you will get great results with either of those.

[@TaraSueSalusso]

@@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber No need to feel sorry for Michele. I marathoned some of your videos tonight with great enjoyment. I appreciate that you responded to a post you made so long ago. I am glad for the reminder because I want to get both of these into my shopping cart before I forget again.

[@earth2becky]

I love Paynes Gray. Very interesting about the difference. I’m curious about what you think of neutral tint? I’m considering it for muting colors. Thanks as always!!

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

The thing with neutral tint is it varies a huge amount between brands. The best way to mute a colour is with it's opposite. For greens try pink, blue/orange, yellow/purple. A warm yellow can also calm a harsh green.

[@earth2becky]

@@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber Wow, thank you so much. It does make sense, too, that using its opposite would give it more depth. Thanks!!

[@MsRosiecat]

I'll finish watching it properly as I want to notes. I think I prefer the Talons Rembrandt as a beautiful dark colour. I'm enjoying it so far.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Excellent 🙂 yes the Talens is very versatile!

[@marcwheeler4406]

Totally going to use Payne's grey...was told by watercolor purist never to use it I was like but theres many things in our world that are a shade of grey, why cant I use it now I have to use it ...lol thank you for this video so I as a beginner in this watercolor journey could understand the pros and cons...mikelle newyork strong ✍🎨👍😷

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Payne's Grey is a great colour!

[@fionabromby4546]

The tone not to use is black

[@1msfit]

Winsor-Newton is the most readily available brand in my area. Some things can be ordered from Amazon or Dick Blick. I am curious as to why it is that most KZbin artists rarely demo with W-N. If I see something I want to try, I usually try to match the pigment numbers with something that W-N has, but that is not always possible, as with Payne’s Gray. Is there some problem with the W-N brand of which I am unaware? (I do avoid student grade products and so buy from the W-N Professional line.) Should I just order other brands from Amazon or Blick? Presumably different brands of paint can be used together-separately in the same painting or even mixed. Is that a correct assumption? Thank you for all the time you put in on these videos, the on-line courses (one of which I have just enrolled in), and answering all of these many questions that we beginners keep asking. Your videos and explanations are superior to many others.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Yes you can mix brands. Windsor and Newton professional are excellent paints, a lot of KZbinrs use more 'trendy' paints perhaps 😅

[@galemckiddy5120]

Thanks!

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

You are very welcome and thank you so much, I appreciate it!

[@appleknocker56]

So many ppl say Daniel Smith’s Payne’s grey & got a small tube but feel it’s more black looking than leaning “blue or violet”? Ty!

[@anniesavidge2468]

Could you do one for mixing purples? Similar to the 10 green recipes you did?

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Great idea!

[@anneedmunds9025]

One of my favourite colours have done a monochrome in it. Now can Branch out in it thanks

[@robertweinblatt2018]

I have Smith and Talens

[@kazfarndon4990]

Have you tried DS Janes grey .. a convenience mix of utramarine and burnt sienna so no black content. I prefer to use this now

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Oh, that sounds interesting, no I haven't, will look out for it thank you!

[@katehobbs2008]

Very helpful, thank you 🇦🇺

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

No problem 👍

[@ulfrunquist3981]

ive just discovered your mixing videos and find them really helpful. a question, or suggestion if you will, is rather than just give the paints' name in addition to the brand you are using, give the pigment names. this could be helpful in choosing colors among the different brands since they seem to use their own names for marketing purposes rather than follow some kind of standard. and the pigments used are normally indicated on the tubes. any thoughts?

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

I sometimes do this, but it can be time consuming, all the good brands have pigment numbers on their websites too.

[@ulfrunquist3981]

@@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber thanks for the reply Michele. I hadn't considered that

[@engleharddinglefester4285]

Yup I got some Payne's Gray due to people talking smack about it :) I happen to like using it but according to some I'm not supposed to!

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Ah a rebel!

[@Ieat2much]

🤣🤣 I love the ‘people talking smack about it’. I am buying a Payne’s gray today - I never owned it but I am intrigued by it and love what I see. I got a coupon so will also save $$. Win win.

[@lynneboll2454]

Daniel Smith now has different shades of Payne’s gray. I have the Payne’s blue gray which I love. I do Ike the DS neutral tint very much, as well.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

I didn't know that! I have a Paynes Grey blue shade by the SAA but it looks exactly like Indigo!

[@fionabromby4546]

Can you please tell me when and why to use black. ?

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

I would use black occasionally for animals such as zebra or the pupils of the eyes and for any objects which are painted black like benches.

[@robotomato5736]

i just started to learn watercolor and my favorite color is Payne's Gray. Am so surprised that people actually warned not to use it. O_o

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

It's because it can be problematic if you use it wrongly, but it's a great colour!

[@Carol0831]

Are Talens Rembrandt and Rembrandt Artist watercolor paints the same brand? I have tried searching for Talens Rembrandt and cannot not find it.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

I imagine so, just beware of cheap imports, sometimes they package the cheaper ones to look like the professional set. Talens have two ranges of Watercolors: Van Gogh is the student's range, Rembrandt are the artist's range, Talens is the brand (Dutch). Usually 'Artist's' means the top quality, but it's worth checking.

[@Carol0831]

@@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber Thank you!

[@lindaw9329]

What a super helpful video! So clear and concise. Thank you. Do you have a Patreon page? I'll check your website. I always learn so much from you.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Yes I do, and it's on my website, so glad you like the videos!

[@mariakellner5429]

What would also help is telling us the pigment numbers,thank you well presented.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Thanks Maria, yes I will try to do that going forward, the surprise of my channel is that colour mixing videos are so popular, I didn't think they would be!

[@mariakellner5429]

I started to learn about pigment numbers because a was attending classes, every teacher had different colours in was fortunate to have all of the maimeri blue yet I didn't have what was on their list,that when my journey started with pigment numbers,and I have to say 15 years ago the teachers only named them by name and as we know all brands call them differently, I'm so glad that there is more information now,takes the mystery out

[@OneTrueWord1988]

In the Studio with Michele Webber: Yes, I love color mixing! Thanks again! 👍💕

[@michaelthornton5113]

When would you use sepia or neutral tint rather than Paynes grey?

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Neutral tint is less blue than Paynes Grey, I don't have it because greys are pretty easy to make. Sepia is great for tree trunks, and watered down for driftwood.

[@grandma.p]

How is Payn'e's Gray different from Neutral Tint? I'm almost finished with my Payne's Gray and am wondering what color to get to replace it or just get another Payne's Gray.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Neutral tint is another multi pigment colour that varies between manufacturers. It tends to be far more brown/black than the strong blue grey of Payne's grey. If you liked the one you had get another. It's a cleaner and more useful colour than neutral tint in my opinion and can be used to mix more colours.

[@grandma.p]

@@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber Thank you!

[@auntyangie33]

I was advised to use paynes grey to darken colours for shading instead of black.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Well I wouldn't put it into everything, it does have some black pigment in it. Using opposite colours is a great trick, eg violet for shadow on a lemon etc

[@elizabethsdesk]

Wish you showed the mixing and what colors.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

It's an old video Elizabeth but thanks for the feedback I try to show as much as possible 🙂

[@FaerieDust]

"no such thing as a bad colour" - YES! I'm a rebel and like black paint, as well. Not to mix shadows, and not as a replacement for mixing my own blacks, but as just another color I enjoy using 🤷 I'm looking for my perfect mixing black, I've had some fun mixing very granulating blacks with random colors. I struggle a bit more with white, mostly because I can't seem to find a good white paint. I've got the white ArtGraf block I'll be playing a bit with, but I'd love to find a really granulating, neutral/cool white - I know I could have a lot of fun with that! The whole "if someone tells me not to use a colour" bit... Y u p. That's how I got started with my black obsession, and it's all escalated from there 😂

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Yes, I am like that too, far more rebellious than my daughter which is odd. I don't have a lot of whites, one thing I am going to do going forwards is swatch more colours and build up an archive on my website. I am about to build a new site...

[@Ieat2much]

@@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber my mom was far far more rebellious than me too😛 in every aspect. Totally get you❤️

[@Ieat2much]

I bought DS lunar black and I love it. It’s my fav colour to mess about it, even more than Moonglow. And the other one I love is mixing phthalo turquoise and rose madder. If I could make an entire piece with Lunar black with touches of dark blue ( mix) I would be very happy.

[@rcwegner1]

I HAVE ALWAYS USED PAYNE'S GRAY WATERED DOWN TO DARKEN DOWN THE BOTTOM OF MY STORMS CLOUDS.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Such a useful colour Richard!

[@liamwatson5125]

I always use Payne’s grey as a dark shade and shadow, never black. Black is too strong.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Great idea!

[@anni50ful]

The professional artist who runs our art group never uses black only paynes grey,I'm not liking the SAA grey very much it's got a yellow tone to it ☺

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Try Talens, Daniel Smith or if you are in the UK then Jackman's Art Materials, I have used all of these brands.

[@SpotterSky]

Paynes gray is a fantastic blue-gray which offers challenges to use and it is one of my favorite colors. There is ONLY one a real Paynes gray color and it is from the brand Winsor and Newton. In every other brand they have not managed to produce this amazing color, whatever enter it has been in crayons or acrylic. All other paynes gray is easy to mix yourself, but it will never be like watercolor paynes gray from WN. It's just my humble opinion and experience!

[@Ieat2much]

Thank you for this insight. I am torn b/w WN and DS, I will pick up the WN one!🙏🏽

[@juliebrocklehurst-woods5247]

I’ve heard that you never use black, but not to avoid Payne’s Gray.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

There are no bad colours, it's best to keep it simple when starting and avoid the tricky colours.

[@marlenaamalfitano2727]

Sea looks brown to me

[@allanfink6138]

If, like me, your computer/phone monitor shows virtually no difference between these colors, you may want to do these swatches yourself with your own paint. KZbin is notorious for shifting colors that are only subtly different and averaging them to be virtually the same color. The video camera digitizes the color, then KZbin will translate the video file to a different file format, then when you play it on your monitor the monitor itself will shift it again. Nearly no two monitors are alike, so getting colors to match is a technical challenge. Just saying, if the colors look identical, try this at home yourself. On my laptop these three grays look like the same paint, and none of them look like the paynes gray I normally paint with.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

It's a challenge for sure Allan, I can't control the monitors and programs people are using when watching me. I just hope that I explain, and they can paint themselves to see the full results.

[@natford8271]

Very out of focus. I think your camera’s autofocus is on and is focussing on the paintbrush not the paper. You could either turn off autofocus or us a wide depth of field.p

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

It's an old video, I no longer use autofocus due to the problems you have mentioned.

[@patrippia7525]

Useless demo since winsor & Newton wasn't included so really didn't show the range.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

There are literally dozens of brands, I may do an update to this one at some point.

[@carlosdommar]

unfortunately the video is out of focus, so I stop watching it after few minutes.

[@LadyLeda2]

This is wonderful!!! Thank you so much!!!

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

My pleasure Laurie!